Coillte to pay State €2m dividend

Coillte is to pay the Government an interim dividend of €2m for the first half of 2012.

The State-owned forestry and renewable energy firm did not pay an interim dividend last year, but returned €10m to the exchequer, in the form of a single annual payment.

Yesterday, the Wicklow- headquartered firm reported pre-tax profits of €20.75m for 2011 — down from a figure of €33.45m for 2010.